American Reacts to Eurovision for the First Time

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In this video I react to Eurovision for the first time? I had no idea what Eurovision Song Contest was, but this looks like so much fun!
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• What is EUROVISION? (G...
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[@Nevolet]

We do vote from home, we just can't vote for our own country, so we vote for the ones we find best.

[@cliffarroyo9554]

But people living in different countries can vote for their own.... (why Turkey used to get so many votes from Germany)

[@Nevolet]

@@cliffarroyo9554 yes thats why neighbouring countries often give eachother high scores. Its not always political..many swedish people work in norway.

[@Wim2600]

@@NevoletNot only that- sometimes it’s just a matter of cultural closeness: the type of music people in the Balkan tend to like and be familiar with is different to what’s popular among the Nordic countries, so what’s often called ‘political’ voting can simply be a matter of voting for the type of music you have the most affinity with.

[@JBLacey-2772]

We love Eurovision! My friends and I hold an online Eurovision party and laugh and comment through the whole contest. We do our own printed off score cards and everything. We dress up, buy snacks and pick a winner. There are always silly entries. You can’t vote for your own country. Our commentator is Graham Norton and maaan he is funny 😂😊

[@Anson_AKB]

of course, it would be impossible to check the nationality of every caller or SMS, but some limitations have to be implemented to avoid countries with large populations just "overshouting" smaller countries. and thus they have to go by some other system, maybe the callers' phone numbers or the phone provider's country, hoping that nobody buys a few million SIM cards in another country to be able to vote for his own country, but thus people living in other countries and having phones in (from) those countries still can vote ...

[@ojmbvids]

I don't think the troll entries are sent in to purposely lose. It's an entertainment show at the end of the day, and entertaining acts tend to do well in the public vote whether it comes across as a troll or not. Also, countries do want to host the Eurovision - it's expensive to host, but the economic benefits are huge!

[@kharma101]

It’s probably a product of the 2000s. The last decade kind of changed towards the end where the trolls started getting better reception with the Televotes.

[@Ruinwyn]

Many countries choose their representatives also through televote. So, sometimes the most interesting act in country's semi is a joke act. And that joke probably won't land elsewhere. But the mediocre forgettable pop songs wouldn't do well either in the competition, so why not have fun. Lot of these countries are small. And the biggest acts won't compete because their schedules are already full without ESC.

[@denniskrenz2080]

I agree, I rather think the "trolls" have just understood too well, how the ESC works: You have only three minutes to make a lasting impression. If not, people will forget you until its time to vote. You have to stick out of the masses. And if you have to be goofy for that, well, then make goofiness your superpower.

[@caistigh2062]

This probably depends on country. I don't think Ireland has actively tried to win much... We hosted it from 93-97 without pause

[@sannev8407]

It is a fact tho that many troll entries from the 00's shown in this video did absolutely bad

[@morarwen]

Eurovision is a very big thing in Australia, that's why they were invited to take part in the 60th anniversary edition. People liked them, so they keep returning year after year, and doing decently well. They came very close to winning in 2016.

[@Datenmeer]

And we love that Australia is being part of it every year!! Greetings from Austria to Australia! :-)

[@benjaminmarker]

Australia has been such a great contribute to the competition. Let's bring in New Zealand, I'd love to hear their voice.

[@mouseclick92]

I agree with the other people here! Australia is more than welcome. Bring New Zealand with you!

[@bradhames4954]

i love australia being apart of it! you guys are so good at it! i have voted for you this year! love from UK💕

[@PaintedBothways]

There's a really funny video of Justin Timberlake at the 2016 Eurovision (he was a guest performer) asking how many ppl were watching live and the host said 200 million and Justin kind of sputtered in shock. I don't think he'd clocked how major the event actually is haha

[@mervinmannas7671]

A lot of Americans have reacted to this guys video and it very inaccurate. First it is traditional for the winner to host the following year but not compulsory. Yes it costs a lot but brings in a huge amount in tourism and fan. The public can vote from home and their vote makes up 50% of the score the jury is the other 50%. He really only showed some of the worst bits. Some great music has come out of Eurovision over the years. You should watch a compilation of all the winners and you will see the evolution of the contest.

[@Anson_AKB]

yes, just like geography videos, such videos often are a good start to get some overview and general info, but need much more research to get all the real and detailed facts. don't forget to also watch compilations of the runner-ups which often were at least as good/popular as the winners, or compilations of specific countries to see how the taste and the quality of songs might have changed over the decades

[@carolineskipper6976]

The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest was watched worldwide by 162 million viewers. Not everyone loves it- but it is a BIG event! It's worth emphasising that it is a 'song Contest' not a 'singing contest'. The acts are judged on an original song that their country has submitted, and the staging and costumes, rather than the actual singing ablity of the act- unlike the sort of TV talent show that exists in many forms around the world, looking to find the 'next big star'. The Uk enters as one nation. The big 5 nations don't 'deliberately send in singers who suck' - this is this guys personal opinion! But we tend not to send someone who already has a succssful recording career (although we have done that!) The people at home do get a vote. The system is a hybrid of a judging panel in each country, and the popular phone/internet votes of individuals. Often the offical juries and the popular votes go in completely different directions. He is very hard on what he calls the 'troll' entries- often these are the most enjoyable! It's what I watch for! They may not expect to win- but they certainly aim to entertain- which they do in spades! You have mssed this year's competition. It was in May. Last year Ukraine won, but for obvious reasons were not in a position to host this year, and so it came to the UK, as we came second. It was held in Liverpool and was a great success. There are loads of Eurovision videos on YT. I'll look out for a good one to link for you.

[@user-B_8]

He can actually find the whole entire final as well as the semifinal both from this year as well as previous years.

[@Anson_AKB]

> it is a 'song Contest' not a 'singing contest' yes, and if you watch compilations or entire shows from previous years, please note that for some decades, it was called "Grand Prix de la Chanson", and the language had to be an official language of the country (thus those first years had lots of songs in the french language, from france, belgium, luxemburg and swizzerland) and the contributions were more "classical chansons" instead of "any (sometimes funny) songs". during all the decades, lots of things changed, songs becoming more "popular" instead of "classical", language restrictions being removed to not prefer languages that were spoken (and thus allowed) in several countries and giving a disadvantage to small countries with their own languages, voting system changes (most notably after small juries and less divers point systems without tiebreakers caused FOUR first places in one year, and after they started with televoting), performances were allowed to include non-singers (dancers etc), and finally making bigger and bigger shows for the entertainment of viewers instead of a serious "song writing and performing" competition. that also caused it to be renamed into "song contest", and it started those "pure fun" contributions which often had a huge entertainment factor but just for that same reason could also be seen as "troll entries" when applying the old "Grand Prix" criteria for what a "good chanson" should be. btw: quite often the winners were only "not bad" and mostly selected for different reasons, or they were "good" from a composer/singer perspective but not seen or heard a lot afterwards. but the real winners in the long run often were the following ranks which you could hear over and over on radio and tv for weeks, including some of those "troll entries", and different ones in each country.

[@nickmontague8936]

The last Eurovision was this year, in Liverpool England, on behalf of Ukraine, who won. Because they couldn't host it, we did on their behalf because we came 2nd.

[@ElainaArcher4]

so you're from Finland?

[@Eurovisionandwwevids]

@@ElainaArcher4he never referred that

[@AnnaKaunitz]

@@ElainaArcher4​​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠What? No they refer to the Uk hosting instead of Ukraine. The Uk came second last year in 2022. The ESC contest is always held in May each year.

[@xFODDERx]

Technically UK came first, UK won the professional vote, then lost out to the public anti Russia vote. In the public vote people were allowed 20 votes each, but people chose 10 votes for the act you prefer and 10 votes for sympathy/solidarity, hence why they changed the format this year.

[@AnnaKaunitz]

@@xFODDERx Your comment is a more odd one among all the weird versions of relativism we’ve seen after the ESC final 2023. After very little actual thought, countless of people “know they’re right, the rules and results are wrong, jury/televotes are wrong, there’s no justice, endless of emotional and other irrelevant subjective feelings are the objective truth. This or that act “deserved” to win for xxx reasons. The professional votes are wrong because they don’t agree with me. But when they agree with me, they have to stay. There is not one and final voting result, there’s hundreds of thousands more valid that damn it should be made into official rules. There is nothing constructive with this kind of marking the territory like dogs do. Please stop with the irrelevant nonsense of subjective ideas of the results. Read your own extreme version of relativizing, “In the public vote, people were allowed 20 votes each, but people chose 10 votes for the act you prefer and 10 votes for sympathy/solidarity, hence why they changed the format this year”. Not accurate. Something to further take into consideration for many, not you what I’ve seen, just overall; I’ve also seen lots of people reply back with “it’s just banter or I was joking”. That’s following the same lazy way by not thinking of the consequences of actions and words, especially in a global online world where typically everyone you interact is from an other culture. Some jokes are simply not funny, certainly after all the insane turmoil we saw in May 2023, and that’s not over. What some consider banter is insensitive, boring, non mutual, repetitive rehashing for many people that enforces the lack of understanding when it’s time to drop it. A win is a win. There’s no “technically” country X won because…. Yes, it was clear Ukraine would win last year and rightly so. It was Europe uniting and saying “F-you, we don’t tolerate that invasion and war in Ukraine”. That’s the beauty of Europe. The Uk had a great song but the Uk came second place. It’s disrespectful to all winners to downplay their wins by saying they didn’t really win. Texts are “flat”, we are from all over the world, when newbies read comments, it’s just even more confusing for them. eurovision.tv/voting-changes-2023-faq or go to Media Handbook 2023 on the same website. I’m exhausted by all tin foil ideas the last two months about ESC.

[@Bungle-UK]

Any broadcaster that is a member of the European Broadcasting Union can enter, hence Israel, Morocco, Australia, Azerbaijan etc taking part.

[@glamxtimex]

Morocco doesn’t take part…

[@Bungle-UK]

@@glamxtimex it did once in 1980 and is still eligible if they wish to do so again

[@glamxtimex]

@@Bungle-UK oh

[@peeryoutube]

@@Bungle-UKyeah they quit after 1 time due to a bad result even though she was a popular artist in Morocco

[@johnsimmons5951]

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is meant for broadcaster in continental Europe (what ever that means as there no natural border to the East) or who boarder the Mediterranean Sea, thus Isreal is a member and joins in with Eurovision Song Contest, but because Isreal attends the other North African countries won’t take part. I don’t know how it is that Australia takes part In Eurovision. It’s the BBC in the UK that is a member of the EBU, so other UK tv channels don’t take part.

[@louisemanley4388]

Some people in the UK have Eurovision parties. They all watch it together, get dressed up, have a few drinks and it's great fun.

[@irenestrmnss4496]

All over there are alot of partys the big final evening. In Norway too , lots of ESC partys. Best quality of the songs were from the 60 s out through the 90 s. But been some really good winners later too. Like 2009, Norway. Sweden several time later. In the 90 s they won with Carola and more. Portugal later, won with a beautiful , slow ballade. Cant remember the year, but you can Google and look it up on YT. Enjoy, lots of good music and fun shows

[@johncenashi5117]

@@irenestrmnss4496 Carola is probably my favorite winner of all time. Altho im biased AF since im Swedish, but shes so good.

[@etsaorned]

You want to watch the Eurovision song contest, the next show will begin in 7th, 9th and 11th may next year 2024. The contest will take place in Malmö, Sweden. I recommend to stay tuned in the official website of Eurovision, and welcome to the Eurovision bubble! Greetings from Sweden

[@jackielouise7538]

He was wrong when he said that the 5 countries who are given an automatic entry into the final deliberately send in bad songs/acts so that they don't win. I have never known the UK to 'deliberately' send a bad act so we don't win. We have won in the past, but we've just got worse at choosing a good act/song as the years have gone on 😊

[@XquantumX-_-]

Yeah, but you have gotten better now finishing 2nd last year and Mae unfortunately just struggling vocally with a good song

[@peterbackhouse8650]

What about the group Dollar? 😅

[@fujservcolqwerty-litaliano8574]

Italy Always Send good music as we are. 🖕

[@cliffarroyo9554]

@@XquantumX-_- I think they should either do away with songs with byes or have full performances of the songs in the semis.... sometimes glitches or tech problems get solved between the semis and final and I think the sound problems that UK had this year probably could have been solved had she performed in one of the semis.

[@oneiriad]

Honestly? I think it has more to do with the language rule change of 1999. If you check, you'll see that all of both UK and Ireland's wins are back when you had to sing in your native language - but funnily enough, only a handful of winning songs since 1999 has not been in English (and most of those are from the last few years). For a long stretch, people often voted for what they could understand.

[@BlaineV13]

I’m an American and I fell in love with Eurovision in 2020 surprisingly with the Netflix movie with Will Ferrel😭😭😭, now I love it

[@jackiea8394]

It’s one of those events that friends organise parties for and watch together in someone’s home. It goes on for hours and we all have our favourite acts to cheer on. Our British tv commentators are hilarious because having sat through rehearsals they know exactly who is going to be over the top and that’s often the hosts of the show!

[@jasoncockbill5864]

Eurovision happens every year in may! The video fails to mention some countries take it very serious (which I'm glad you said) and there are some incredible performers and talent that is shown! If you know the band maneskin, they won in 2021. It's worth checking out the top 10 recap of 2023! Lots of different performances, languages and artists. Goodluck with your eurovision journey!!

[@janehayward9453]

Take a look at Alexander Rybak's performance of Fairytale in the Eurovision 2009 grand final - a Norwegian masterclass in how to win Eurovision.

[@irenestrmnss4496]

Jepp, nemlig !!!!!!!! Agree of course. This years norwegian was very good too. 🙋‍♀️🌍🌄🌞

[@Kitrichor]

Eurovision takes place in May / Spring time so defiently missed this years. However I'm sure you can find clips on youtube. I highly Recommend Finland's entry Cha, Cha, Cha for a true picture of what Eurovision can be. They came second, they only lost due to jury vote, the public loved them! (The voting is 50% jury and 50% public telephone / interent votes).

[@fizzlers444]

Omg I love Eurovision so much!! You 100% need to do a reaction to Finland's entry this year. Kaarija 'Cha Cha Cha'. He came 2nd overall but the public overwhelmingly voted for him to win. It's iconic!! Love from Ireland 🇮🇪🇮🇪☘️

[@gallowglass2630]

It also meant that ireland doesn't have the top spot anymore well it does but sweden are now level with us

[@mrcirclestrafe-7696]

Happens every May. Common in the UK to do Eurovision Bingo, so when you spot weird stuff you take a shot or whatever. It's good fun. Even the commentators sound like they're getting drunk during the evening.

[@eddievision]

Actually an American has won the song contest for the UK..Katrina Elizabeth Leskanich born April 10, 1960) is an American musician and the former lead singer of the pop rock band Katrina and the Waves. Their song " Walking on Sunshine " was an international hit in 1985. In 1997, the band won the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with the song " Love Shine a Light ".

[@4maria100]

Katrina is American but the rest of the band where British, they didn’t win for uk they where from the uk, if that makes sense.

[@lionelspencer-ward3527]

“I had never heard of this” “I had no idea” “I didn't know this” Americans reacting to.... anything!!!

[@101steel4]

They live in a bubble and know nothing of the outside world. A bit like North Korea 😂

[@geminiokra]

@@101steel4 at the very least they have the opportunity to learn something unlike north korea, but most probably dont bother because "who needs to know anything about the outside world when america is the best," right?!?!?

[@Jamienomore]

A lot of Singers/Bands became Famous after the Eurovision Song Contest. Sandy Shaw, Lulu, Dana, ABBA, Brotherhood of Man, Johnny Logan, Bucks Fizz, Celien Dion and many more.

[@andrewwells3367]

Riverdance was not part of the competition, but entertainment to fill the gap between the singers' performances and the results being collated.

[@catbevis1644]

The original point of Eurovision wasn't about who has the best music or singers- it was about a group of countries with different languages and cultures trying to find some common ground. How do you find commonality through a language barrier?- music. It was only a bit later someone clearly realised that humour also breaks through language barriers. When someone crazy is on stage we're all there cheering for them because that's just part of the fun. In finding common ground, Eurovision has more than fulfilled it's purpose and it's really the only celebration we have of being "European" (it's basically a Europe-wide Last Night of the Proms... if the Proms was organised by RuPaul lol). With all due respect, I think America would just take it as a serious singing competition and not quite "get" the craziness. Basically America, you'd have to sink to our level first.

[@tadeujulio]

Eurovision is great and so funny with some unique contestants.

[@dandelionhood4508]

For me, the biggest appeal of Eurovision is just meeting people and talking about the contest and learning things about different cultures, particularly languages and history. Europe is such a culturally diverse continent and there are so many aspects of different cultures I would have never even heard of if it wasn't for Eurovision. And I love discovering new artists to support even after the contest has ended. Luke Black, Teya and Alessandra, for example, are artists from this year I listen to now on a daily basis. Some of my favourite songs are from Eurovision, 'Shum' and 'Soldi', for example. Plus, the hype during the weeks before the contest is also always super fun and getting to follow the artists' shenanigans via their social media and interviews is always something I look forward to greatly. I really love that the whole thing doesn't really feel like a competition, but rather a big party where everyone is hanging out and meeting new friends. It's just so fun and wholesome and always feels like such a vibe.

[@sk70091]

Absolutely! I've been very into Joker Out since May and even started learning Slovenian to understand their songs better. I'm seeing them live next month :)

[@frglee]

Eurovision is not a channel, but it was started in the 1950s as a tv network system to allow programmes to be shared around the various tv networks in Europe (news footage, sports events etc). The song contest is one of the few programmes that the Eurovision network actually oversees, but the programme is actually made each year by an individual national broadcaster chosen to host the show that year, usually because they won the competition the previous year.

[@richieb7692]

If you're getting into Eurovision, you have to check out the 2006 winners from Finland, Lordi. Their whole performance is just incredible.

[@antiqueinsider]

It's not a singer or group that is entered (at least officially) it's a song! It's supposed to promote musical innovation and sharing new 'art'.

[@sarahlouise4445]

It’s on tonight !! 2024 Eurovision here we go !!!

[@sallytsang9444]

It has become so large that it runs for several days because there are semi finals to reduce the number of contestants for the final. It is quite a viewing marathon on a Saturday evening to listen to all of the songs each of which is introduced with a short clip of the performer in a kind of tourist setting of the host country, the interval chat and performances, and then the jury votes from each country, and then the public votes from each country which can upset the final outcome. The UK does tend to do pretty badly these days, though last year our entry Space Man by Sam Ryder came first after the jury vote but ultimately second behind Ukraine when the public votes were added in. We hosted it this year because Ukraine were unable. This year Sweden won so they will host it in 2024. Sweden's most successful Eurovision winners were Abba With Waterloo in 1974.

[@cynic7049]

@@thetruth9210 I think most still remembers "Waterloo" and that was almost 50 years ago, and "Volare" is still rather well-known and it only came 3rd and that was 65 years ago.

[@AndrewJonesMcGuire]

@@thetruth9210 I mean I beg to differ. I don't think I can ever forget the genius of "And before that wolf eats my Grandma, give that wolf a banana" from Subwoolfer

[@malcolmbrown7683]

@@thetruth9210 Waterloo by ABBA won in1974 so next year it will be 50 years ago and where will the contest be in 2024? Sweden of course!

[@PigsMightFly09]

It was held in Liverpool this year in May. Next year in Malmo, Sweden. Riverdance was an interval act on that year's Eurovision: was it 1994?. Probably the best interval act ever in the history of Eurovision. All the past Eurovision song contests are on youtube of you want to watch and see what it's all about!!

[@davidchandler9260]

The public vote as well as a “professional” panel.

[@jonathanmorgan1882]

They recruit the juries outside the hearing aid clinic.

[@sk70091]

I like your use of quotation marks there lol

[@marygarnham764]

Good description Steve, “the Olympics for Singers/songs/groups/duos, etc”. It’s very popular in the U.K., where it was held last year.

[@Anson_AKB]

and just like the saying about the olympics, also for the ESC "participating is everything" (except for already famous singers who get "zero points"). who really wins quite often is determined by radio and tv presence during the following weeks and months, and whether people still remember someone after a year, and those "winners" quite often also are very different in all the countries, and can very well be runner-ups, lower ranks, or even funny songs from the last ranks. (compare that to the winter olympics: i barely remember any people who participated, and the first that come to my mind are "Eddie the eagle" and the jamaican bobsled team :-)

[@esclad]

I went to Liverpool this year, it was amazing. Half the votes comes from the public, the other half from countries juries. There are 2 semi finals and 1 grand final. The song can't be more than 3 mins, there can't be no more than 6 performers on stage and the song has to be original- no cover versions. 'The Big 5' do try and win now-a-days. You should react to this years contest which happened several weeks ago :)

[@Anson_AKB]

all the rules change over time ... eg the "max 6 performers" once was a limitation that only singers were allowed, disallowing dancers, or instrumental acts. the german song "Dschingis Khan" was almost disqualified since one of the performers originally only danced around the singers, and they had to give him a few words to sing too.

[@SirBradiator]

There is still a piblic vote, Since 2016 the vote is split 50/50 between the public and the professional juries.

[@XquantumX-_-]

No, since 2009 there's been a 50/50 split. Only in 2016 did they start separating the points instead of combining them. Also it's a 51/49 split now in favor of the televote and the televote has full power over the semis

[@karlJCompton]

I was there for the live semi final 1 show this year. Hands down the best night of my life.

[@darrenj.griffiths9507]

The Finnish song where they were dressed up as those monsters (the band is called Lordi and are actually pretty amazing), came in first place in that year, by far. But then Finland know how to put on a good music show.

[@citruzee]

A lot of the draw is having a Eurovision watch party where everyone gets together and cheers for their favourites. Like the superbowl I guess? You can do drinking games/Eurovision bingo for things like "drink for a smoke/wind machine" or "a country gives max points to their neighbour".

[@libradragon934]

You have missed it this year, it takes place in May. Last year, Ukraine won, but the UK stepped in to host for them in Liverpool. One of the compere's was a Ukrainian and it was very much a Ukrainian themed show! (Unbelievably, we came 2nd last year, but don't worry, we came second to last this year, so normal service has been resumed! 😂) He mentioned about Ireland sending a puppet, I think they did this deliberately as they won in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996 and probably couldn't afford to host it again!! 😂

[@Faybian1000]

There are compilations such as 'Eurovision Winners from 1956 - 2021' that you can react to :)

[@0KiteEatingTree0]

It was supposed to be held in Ukraine this year. UK held in Liverpool due to the war The hosts are a laugh as well

[@marcelweger40]

Fun fact… that crazy German entry is Wadde Hadde Dudde Da by performed by late show host Stefan Raab - aaand he almost won. That song is epic 😂

[@beverleyringe7014]

ABBA began their successful career in Brighton winning with Waterloo, 1974..

[@audiocoffee]

this year, they opened up phone in voting for the first time for countries outside the realm of the Eurovision. There's an app for it too. if every country on the planet was involved, the show would take well over a week - and be more exhausting than it currently is. however, embracing the eurovision is fine whichever way you want to do it. some places have eurovision parties (invite/ticket only) that build up for the main event - and include the grand finale on the Saturday night. or you can watch it online, or listen to it on the radio (stations will vary) and celebrate it any way you like - there is no right or wrong. there's plenty of ways to participate online - there's no one specific app or way to enjoy the banter anywhere. you've missed it this year - but usually around about March, that's when countries vote for their act to be in the final in May. but this years acts are right here on youtube. got a feeling next years will be a bit special. 50 years of Abba. on the whole, the eurovision song contest is a bit like your favourite aunt - ok, but can be a little bit cringy.

[@Evastumpan]

50 years since Abba and it's in sweden 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🥰🥰🥰

[@aristocratic_fox25lovescheese]

Sadly you just missed this years eurovision. But you can find all this years songs on KZbin

[@XquantumX-_-]

He could also just rewatch it since all 3 broadcasted shows are on KZbin

[@manosmarkakis9393]

Eurovision takes place always in May around 10- 20 of May, with 1st and 2nd semifinals and finally the big final. Iam fanatic of it since i was 12 and now i am 50 still the same fanatic just like many Europeans. Its fun, the songs are being released a couple of months before May and videos with statistics , critics and favorite songs you can find everywhere on internet. Have fun with your new discovery. Eurovision is a great fun ( some songs are cheesy but you can listen to great songs too that become international hits. Abba and Celine dion started their carrier in Eurovision in the 70's and 80's

[@irenestrmnss4496]

Me too started as a child, when I was 10 maybe. I am norwegian. 61 now. I was fascinated and loved all the french language and those winners. The 60s 70 s 80s and the 90 s had the best songs. Some good ones after the 2000 too, but not so many. Love music cause grew up with it. The swedish radio, hits, radio Luxembourg, recordplayer, albums and singles, TV came to Norway in my childhood so every music show we watched. As a young kid I learned easily the winning favorites or number 2 or 3. I sang all the time, outdoors on the swing and at home infront of the mirror 😂😊🙋‍♀️🌍

[@Anson_AKB]

Many people don't know that *_Celine Dion_* sang in the ESC, and even won for Swizzerland in 1988. small correction: she already had a career and was a known singer for french songs in canada, but yes, the ESC might have helped considerably in making her known in europe and worldwide. Another singer to participate in the ESC in the _same_ year was *_Lara Fabian_* who got the 4th place for Luxemburg. fun fact: Celine Dion and Lara Fabian both were intended to become stars in america, but since the producers decided that "there should only be one", Celine became better known faster, and Lara still had a great worldwide career (search for her on youtube, eg "Je suis malade", "Adagio", and others).

[@whitecompany18]

This year it was in Liverpool, I live on the wirral waterfront opposite the echo arena so I could watch it on tv with a fifteen second delay from what I could hear coming through my living room window, it was really loud and massive light show that lit up the whole sky👍

[@Jefferson_starkid]

Belgian here, we have Eurovision parties every year and it's always a hilarious and very drunk affair.

[@aristsag9629]

Eurovision take parts every May. This year is 7th of May the first semifinal, at 9th the second semifinal and at 11th the final. I think that you can watch it in US live.

[@juliemartin4267]

The Eurovision Song Contest is held in May each year. This year it was in Liverpool as they were awarded the gig when Ukraine won last year. I tried to get tickets but all that was left by the time I got through were the mega expensive ones. I watch it every year and yes telephone voting is still a thing. It’s 50/50 jury vote and telephone vote

[@missk9521]

It is held in may every year. Usually the second week in may with grand final on saturday. The last grand final was streamed on youtube for the whole 4 hours.

[@raythomas4812]

I went to Liverpool for Eurovision and I had a fantastic time. I have also been to Athens, Riga, Malmo and Düsseldorf. It's such good fun, you support your favourite song - not always your own country

[@ianadam3393]

it takes place in MAY every year. This year it was 9-13 may in liverpool, uk. next year it will be 7-11 may in malmo, sweden as sweden won this year. BTW, they also have a youtube channel: EUROVISION SONG CONTEST and the finals are broadcast there live every year.

[@DavidDoyleOutdoors]

@Steve Every country televotes, but its just 50% of the points of that country's points given to the other countries, each country also has judging panels for the other 50% of the points.

[@angelanewsome6312]

Eurovision is an annual event and people host parties all dressing up to the course try of their choice. Its a big annual event xx

[@susanashcroft2674]

In between each song there is something called a Postcard which is roughly a minute long and this gives some time for lighting and staging crew to take away the previous songs staging (if they have any) and bring on the next songs staging (if they have any) and the next performance to take stage. This years Postcards as Ukraine were the 2022 winners and the UK hosted on their behalf included some landmarks from Ukraine, the UK and snapshot of each participating country, with their singer(s)/band. For me it gave a little glimpse into the beauty of other European countries (and the few non European countries). kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6GkmZmjp6erjsU

[@louisemiller4970]

We all watch it for a good laugh we used to watch it as a family, we would get together for the night and bet on who we thought would win

[@lyralea2457]

Love Eurovision. This video is a little old now so a couple of bits are outdated ("most countries choose to sing in English" used to be true, but lately native language songs are doing very well. "Lots or troll entries" they were more popular during the televote only era. Since juries came back, the quality of music has gone up a lot). As for whether the US should join? For now, no, one day, maybe. Australia aired the contest and had a big fanbase over there for a looooong time before they were invited to join. And they fit in well because they seem to understand its more about the celebration of music than being overly competitive. Eurovision has been available on Peacock in the US for the past couple of years (though not very popular I think) so maybe if that continues, and more people watch it and understand the vibe, maybe they'll be able to join. But any sign of "We're number one" and there would be a lot of complaints from Europe...

[@Anson_AKB]

yes, Australia and the USA (or rather some of their networks) are "associated members" of Eurovision. thus they have _no automatic right_ to participate but *_can_*_ be invited _*_if_* they enjoy and celebrate the contest, which Australia did (and thus got a first invitation for the 60th anniversary of the contest), and the USA are not too eager/hyped by it. and also yes, any "we're #1" will certainly result in a first place for them, counted from the bottom, with "zero points". The Lithuanian "We are the Winners" in 2006 was a "Troll entry", decided by televoting and not a jury, but pretty clearly also not intended to be serious, and it's reception was from being booed during the ESC to being semi-successfull (got 6th place)

[@andybaker2456]

You need to check out some of the Eurovision winners. ABBA shot to fame through winning Eurovision in 1974, when we hosted it here in the UK. Bucks Fizz won it for the UK in 1981 and went on to have a successful recording career. There are many others, too. Not all of the acts that compete are as odd as he showed in that video!

[@CoasterFriendsYT]

The next one is May 11th 2024 and is being hosted in Malmö, Sweden, after Loreen won in Liverpool just under 3 months ago!

[@claregale9011]

Look up sandie shaw she won in 1967 with the song puppet on a string ..very good 😊. Ireland have done well over the years too . Its all good fun 😊

[@winterv3vo]

ireland has done very bad since the 00's, but 90s were really their golden years. 4 wins in a decade, 3 in a row. Sadly their broadcaster RTE does not really care much for ESC anymore, but they did well in junior eurovision last year, coming 4th place (Sophie Lennon-Solas). Puppet on a string was truly an amazing entry for its time, but sadly not too loved within the ESC Fandom, due to recency bias

[@gallowglass2630]

@@winterv3vo RTE is not in charge of irelands junior eurovision,the irish language medium channel TG4 looks after the irish entry which is probably why we did better.TG4 is a much better channel because it has to be as irish is a minority language so in order to retain viewers it has to be constantly on the ball.

[@KC-gy5xw]

Abba, Johnny Ball, and I must say Sam Ryder's song was pretty damn good a few years ago. OOh, and Riverdance - Damn, that was INCREDIBLE and that was when Eurovision was still required viewing my house... That's all you need to know.

[@BramLastname]

Friendly reminder that the Next Eurovision Song Contest is May 7th And that you can watch it online.

[@caleywytch1]

Check out lordi Finland- the monsters that won. Btw over the years had some big names lose... but I think one of the most famous winners would be Sweden which was Abba with Waterloo.

[@Anson_AKB]

what about the contest in 1988 ? ... Winner was Celine Dion for Swizzerland, and 4th place was Lara Fabian for Luxemburg. some italian songs also were quite successfull or failures, eg Gigliola Cinquetti (winner in 1964 with "Non ho l'eta", and runner-up in 1974 with "Si"), and Domenico Modugno (third in 1958 with "Volare" which became a huge success afterwards), but both together in 1966 first won in San Remo and then got the last place with "zero points" in the ESC. "fun fact" for those who want to go down rabbit holes : Matt Munro was the Runner-Up behind Gigliola in 1964, and a year later sang "From Russia With Love" for that Bond movie.

[@andrewdodimead1999]

Your reaction was so funny. It is like my reaction every year that I watch it 😂

[@henryjackson6677]

Voting is now 50% tele-voting and 50% by national juries.

[@GTylker]

Televoting currently holds 50% of the power in the voting. Each country has a jury that gives out 1-8, 10 and 12 points. The televotes are gathered from each country and they also give out points based on the same formula as the jury, the difference is that the jury gives their points country by country while all the televoting points are added on for each country at the end.

[@Caraline]

You should try to watch this years' Eurovision, it was a very good year! Most Americans just watch the acts in separate videos, but the appeal is in the entire show.

[@AllyStrikesBack]

Barbs had no idea how right he was when he said "it costs a lot of money to host an event that gets bigger every year" Ireland learned that the hard way by winning 3 years in a row.

[@tonygreenfield7820]

He did say in the video that it takes place in May. There are "playoffs" in the individual nations to select the song/singers to go. In the UK at least there is a TV show "A Song for Europe". Perhaps the biggest success to come out of Eurovision was ABBA. Whether they are that well known in the US i dont know. British groups Bucks Fizz and Brotherhood of Man also hit their big start from Eurovision.

[@abismith5668]

We haven't had A Song For Europe for 20 years! We had You Decide for a few years but that got dropped and the selection process has been done internally since 2019, I think.

[@missduffypenny]

my friends and me watch i every year and we always play a little drinking game: you see pink-you drink! aaaand there’s a lot of pink(unfortunately)🎸🥳🍷😉

[@TimeyWimeyLimey]

There are no entries that 'deliberately suck' or troll. The American commentator just isn't getting the European sense of humour or cultural significance of some of the songs, or the need to out gimmick your opponents to win the public vote. Liverpool in the U.K. hosted it this year on Ukraine's behalf, we were more than happy to stage it and help out.

[@gallowglass2630]

The puppet turkey that ireland sent is an icon irish childrens tv,he made it sound like we just created to lose Eurovision.However there is some truth to what he said the irish National Broadcaster RTE are not keen on hosting after hosting 3 in a row in the 90s.

[@d.n.2527]

Disagree. In the 00s there were absolutely troll entries which had nothing to do with cultural significance. However I feel this has changed in the 10s and 20s years and nowadays most songs are of high quality.

[@tetama2agani]

If you react to Eurovision you have to react to Verka Serduchka Dancing Lasha tumbai ❤❤the most iconic and legendary Eurovision performance even though she ended second place she's like the Mother Queen of Eurovision ❤❤

[@timglennon6814]

You have missed this year’s Eurovision, but hear is the date for next year’s final 11th May 2024. 8pm U.K. time 3pm USA. Next year’s final is being held in Sweden.

[@alistairthorn1122]

It takes place every May. All the songs are usually available on KZbin ahead of the contest and all of the performances go online after it. There are some absolute gems amongst them and some really rubbish songs. Most folk in the UK treat it as a joke, but get angry when we score badly.

[@naisaShip]

it's not a singing competition. it's a song competition.

[@Kurukuu]

You can check some ' All Eurovision winners since the start' videos, and be surprised by some performers and how the style of singing has changed

[@zedbee42]

Eurovision has become so large that it is now spread across several days with preliminary heats for the first few days to see who will get through to the final night. This year, in May, it was held in my hometown of Liverpool and the build-up and atmosphere in the city centre was brilliant and although I did not go to any the actual shows there was plenty of other events going on around the city including a large out-door one right next door to the Arena where Eurovision was happening, with a large screen showing the live event. There were also plenty of Eurovision parties being held at peoples homes, a lot in fancy dress so you can come as your favourite Eurovision entry from the past or present, with lots of food and drinks. All while watching the live TV show. Although the hosting country will have their own presenters on stage, all other countries will have there own commentators explaining and translating what going on to their viewers. When the UK are not hosting, which is most years, our commentators can be hilarious poking fun at the hosting county’s presenters and the acts, including our own. If you can find any clips with the UK giving commentary they can be worth searching for. Our two main commentators over the years have been Terry Wogan (up to 2008) and Graham Norton (2009 onwards), both Irish with a great Irish sense of humour.

[@tillla42]

The Eurovision song contest final is in the middle of mai. This year it was 13. of may. Every country have their own finals from about february to april.

[@teo_heel]

You were right about Song Contest being a section in Eurovision. There're other contests held by Eurovision. Junior Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision Choir, Eurovision Dance Contest, Eurovision Magic Circus Show, Eurovision Young Musicians and other events are organized by European Broadcasting Union (and Eurovision is their network).

[@hannahhammond1993]

The eurovison is usually done in May he did mention it briefly at the beginning of the video 😊

[@DevPreston]

Eurovision is a lot of fun. Next one is the first full week of May, and it is generally around this time of year

[@RevPeterTrabaris]

I recently heard about this. I read that it is broadcast over Peacock but I couldn't find it. Hope they do broadcast this in the U.S. in the future. Of course, then they would have to endure American feedback. Anyway, so much fun. Thanks, Steve.

[@Gajol1000]

Eurovision is a true European institution. It’s part of our DNA, something that unites Europe and that everyone knows, even if they are not fans. I’d say 99% of all Europeans have some kind of opinion or relation to it. Many of us grew up watching Eurovision. It’s like an entertainment and light music version of America’s super bowl final. The Eurovision Song Contest is organized by the EBU and its members (Europe’s national TV stations). It’s usually hosted in the country that won the previous year. The annual Eurovision finals are massive TV shows live on TV across Europe. It’s amazing! And some of the songs become big hits. Remember; ABBA, Céline Dion, Måneskin all won it.

[@clairetm2]

I know Peacock in the US used to show it (not sure if they still do), but from this year, you can watch it live on youtube worldwide on the Eurovision channel. If you do manage to catch it next year, enjoy! It's 4-ish hours of insanity. I love it!

[@teo_heel]

There's one american performer who won ESC. Katrina Leskanich (from "Katrina and the Waves") won ESC for United Kingdom in 1997 and she was born in US.

[@geoffpoole483]

Steve, the legendary comedy Father Ted did a parody of Eurovision. It was made at a time when Ireland kept winning it. Marvel at the classic that is "My Lovely Horse".

[@cryzzalis7939]

Came across this video just now. Idk if you'll manage to read this in time, but Eurovision is set to take place the 7th and 9th of May (for semi-finals) and the 11th of May (for the grand final) this year. So just next week.

[@_Churchy]

Eurovision always happens in May over the course of a few days to decide which countries progress through the semifinals to the final.

[@scottwebb1978]

Eurovision Song Contest takes place in May Each year 2 semi finals and a Grand Final... You can go to the Eurovision youtube page to see this year's Grand Final show from Liverpool UK

[@AnnaNersesyanlight]

There's also Junior Eurovision, this year ut will be held in Nice, France, on 26 of November

[@tazokenkadze5492]

The contest is held in the first half of may every year

[@Bungle-UK]

The UK has a great track record….we have won 5 times, come second a record 16 times and hosted 9 times. The legendary Katie Boyle was the host a record 3 times. That said, things have gone downhill in the last 20 years as the quality of our acts has gone downhill and most other countries have really upped their game, although we came second again in 2022.

[@ehmzed]

You should definitely check out (and maybe react to) this year's Top 10 entries or the Top 5 at least! Here's the Top10 compilation video on the Eurovision KZbin channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZzRZmONmc-EY6c

[@taracopps1740]

Thank you for knowing that UK has 4 nations, loads of European people I meet don't know that Wales exists 🫣 Definitely worth watching Eurovision next year it's so good!

[@beccamccombie1758]

Would love to see you react to more Eurovision content!

[@lynnblaircurrens9097]

The recent voting system is the jury votes r announced 1st which give out 1-8, 10 & 12 points once they r done the public votes r announced which is the same 1-8, 10 & 12 points and the country with the most votes wins and will be next years host also for public votes u can vote for any country that isn’t ur own Australia was invited to join as part of the 60th anniversary but because they r such big fans of many year as they do broadcast it even tho they weren’t part of it so after the 60th anniversary we decided to just let them be part of it going forward

[@XquantumX-_-]

Something I'd like to point out is that that's how the televoting system works, but the points are announced giving each country their televote score at once starting with the ones that finished the lowest with the juries working up to the top of the table. The televote also from this year has 1 more set of 1-8+10 and 12 points to give out compared to the jury

[@MariaEiva7484]

Check out a non contestant song (mid act) that explains how to write .. the perfect Eurovision song “love love peace peace” all figures in that song actually competed at one point (you will recognize some.. like the hamster wheel) .. it’s hilarious

[@Vinterloft]

Eurovision almost always takes place in may. With like 2-3 months ahead of time of national finals for the hardcore crowd to sift through :D

[@Pleasegivemeschoki]

Eurovision has around 160-210 million live viewers during the finale, and that's just counted per device, so it's probably even double or tripple of that considering barely anyone watches it alone+KZbin livestream watchers lol